Department for Transport

Bus Services: Working Hours

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to tighten the regulations governing driving hours and rest periods for bus drivers on local routes to bring them into line with the regulations for long-distance bus drivers.

baroness sugg: The Government has no current plans to change the GB domestic drivers’ hours legislation applicable to drivers of local bus services. The existing legislation is both important and appropriate in ensuring the safety of drivers and others on the road. However, any further restrictions could risk imposing unreasonable burdens on industry, particularly as fatal accidents involving bus or coaches have been falling over time, from 120 in 2007 to 55 in 2017. It is worth noting that reported involvement in a fatal accident does not necessarily indicate fault or causation.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of thereport by the New Economic Foundation  A Rail Network for Everyone: probing HS2 and its alternatives, published on 20 March, in particular its conclusionsthat (1) HS2 will make the north–south divide worse by concentrating wealth in London, and (2) the budget for HS2 should be invested in the existing railway network instead.

baroness sugg: HS2 has the potential to be a transformative infrastructure project that will help to rebalance our economy. The report misrepresents evidence that by no means suggests that HS2 would exacerbate a North-South divide. The project has cross-party Parliamentary support and significant support from political leaders in the North and Midlands, in particular, who can see the benefits this project can have in terms of job creation, providing new apprenticeships and opportunities for large and small businesses, unlocking commercial space and regeneration and facilitating new housing. The project is already leading to significant investment in Birmingham and we expect it to deliver similar growth in towns and cities across the North. HS2 not only represents an investment in the economies of the North and Midlands, it will also add additional capacity where our rail network needs it most and the trains will call at 25 stations across the UK, as far as Edinburgh and Glasgow, which will improve people’s connections between towns and cities the breath of the UK. To present the investment in our rail network as an either / or between modernising the existing network and investing in new infrastructure is both misleading and inaccurate. In Control Period 6 the government is planning to invest £48bn on our rail network, this is in addition to HS2 and the emerging plans Transport for the North has developed for Northern Powerhouse Rail. While upgrading existing lines is essential, doing that alone would not provide the long-term capacity that is so vitally needed – HS2 will deliver capacity roughly equivalent to two new dual three-lane motorways - would lead to more disruption for passengers on the existing networks, and more importantly it would not offer the range of economic benefits that City Regions and LEPs have set out in their HS2 Growth Strategies.

Driving: Licensing

earl attlee: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact of the introduction of a system of graduated licences for new or young drivers.

baroness sugg: The Department for Transport will closely monitor the results of the introduction of Graduated Driver Licencing (GDL) in Northern Ireland, before further consideration is given to introducing such a system more widely within the UK.The Department needs to be sure that the benefits of introducing GDL to the UK are balanced against the potential risks and costs of the restrictions on young drivers.

Cars: Safety

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to remain closely aligned with EU car safety standards in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

baroness sugg: The majority of safety standards applied by the EU for new road vehicles are those agreed under the international Agreements of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). As a contracting party to the UNECE agreement, the UK will continue to accept these same regulations in the event of a no deal and shall continue to take a leading role in their development to ensure the highest levels of safety continue to apply.

Cycling: Road Traffic Offences

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to undertake a consultation on increasing penalties for cyclists who (1) ride through zebra crossings when pedestrians are on them, (2) ride through red traffic lights, (3) ride without lights at night, (4) ride on pavements, (5) cause death or serious injury by dangerous cycling, (6) ride aggressively, and (7) are a danger to pedestrians.

baroness sugg: The Department for Transport consulted on new cycling offences last year. The consultation period closed on 5 November and the Department is currently analysing the responses. The specific purpose of the consultation was to consider the case for new offences of causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling, bringing such cycling behaviour more in line with those for driving.

Crossrail Line

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what they expect will be the final total cost of the Crossrail project; and when the line is expected to open.

baroness sugg: Crossrail Limited, the organisation responsible for delivering the project and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transport for London, are working to establish a robust delivery schedule to gain certainty regarding the opening plan for the Elizabeth line and the final cost of the project. The anticipated final cost of the Crossrail project is yet to be confirmed.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Nuclear Power

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it remains their policy that a third of the UK's future long-term energy requirements should be met by civil nuclear power.

lord henley: The Government continues to believe that nuclear power has an important role to play as we transition to a low carbon economy, as long as it provides value for money for taxpayers and consumers. Our commitment to nuclear power has been demonstrated by giving the go-ahead to the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C, as well as launching our landmark £200m Nuclear Sector Deal last year, which includes support for advanced nuclear technologies.

International Evidence on the Impacts of Minimum Wages Review

the earl of listowel: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the review by Professor Arindrajit Dube of the international evidence on the impacts of minimum wages will begin; and when the review will make its interim and final reports.

lord henley: Through the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage, the Government ensures that the lowest paid in our society are fairly rewarded for their work. From April 2019, over 2.1 million people will benefit from inflation-beating increases in the minimum wages rates. At Spring Statement 2019, the Government confirmed the Low Pay Commission’s remit for the National Living Wage to reach 60 per cent of median earnings by 2020, subject to sustained economic growth. At £8.21 an hour, the National Living Wage is on track to meet this target. Later this year, the Government will set out the Low Pay Commission’s remit beyond 2020, with the ultimate objective of ending low pay in the UK. To help inform this new remit, the Government has appointed Professor Arindrajit Dube to undertake a review of the latest international evidence on the impacts of minimum wages and consider the implications for future minimum wage policy in the UK. The review began in March 2019 and Professor Dube will present his findings in the autumn.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Germany: Defence

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Germany concerning the level of its contributions to defence spending as a NATO member.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: At the 2014 NATO Wales Summit, all Allies signed a Defence Investment Pledge (DIP) undertaking to reach 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence and 20% of defence expenditure on major equipment by 2024. We have been clear on the need for increased defence spending in the Alliance to meet the challenge of an evolving and complex security environment.We welcome German increases in defence spending and continue to engage them on their progress towards meeting the Pledge. The Foreign Secretary, Defence Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer regularly raise defence spending with their German counterparts. We also continue to push the case for increased defence spending at NATO meetings, such as the recent Defence Minister's meeting in February.

Saudi Arabia: Females

lord judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia about the detention, treatment and torture of Eman al-Nafjan and the other female prisoners whose trial began on 13 March; and what response they have received to any such representations.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We are closely following the case of Eman al-Nafjan and other women's rights activists. We continue to raise our concerns with the Saudi authorities about the alleged mistreatment and torture of women's rights activists in detention. We consistently and unreservedly condemn torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and it is a priority for us to challenge it wherever and whenever it occurs.

Cabinet Office

Honours

lord lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to theanswerby Lord Young of Cookham on 26 March (HL Deb, col 1709), what plans they have to fill the vacancies in the Order of the Companions of Honour.

lord young of cookham: There are currently only two vacancies in the Order of the Companions of Honour. The maximum membership of the Order is 65 people. There have been 28 appointments to the Order since 2014, including five appointments in 2018 and one in 2019. The independent honours committees work closely with Government departments to seek and attract nominees with a wide breadth of outstanding achievement. The committees actively seek to make use of the Order.

Department of Health and Social Care

Hyperkalemia

baroness masham of ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote awareness of hyperkalaemia and its implications for patients with chronic kidney disease and heart failure.

baroness masham of ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance and support they have provided on the implementation of the NHS Improvement's Patient Safety Alert on hyperkalaemia.

baroness masham of ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the patient safety concerns expressed in NHS Improvement's Patient Safety Alert on hyperkalaemia.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: On 8 August 2018, NHS Improvement issued a National Patient Safety Alert to support safe and timely management of hyperkalaemia through a range of resources that would help organisations ensure their clinical staff have easily accessible information to guide prompt investigation, treatment and monitoring options. The resources include clinical practice guidelines from the UK Renal Association on treatment of acute hyperkalaemia in adults and an awareness video from NHS Improvement for hospital staff. A copy of Patient Safety Alert: Resources to support safe and timely management of hyperkalaemia (high level of potassium in the blood) is attached.National Patient Safety Alerts are issued through the Central Alerting System (CAS); a web-based cascading system for issuing patient safety alerts, important public health messages and other safety critical information and guidance to the National Health Service and others, including independent providers of health and social care.NHS trusts are required to respond via CAS stating whether they are compliant with the actions and the timescale provided in all patient safety alerts or whether the alert is not relevant to them.NHS Improvement has been working closely with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to ensure that inspection teams are aware of national patient safety alerts that have been recently issued and that they review the actions taken in response to national patient safety alerts during their inspections.In addition, the Department commissioned the CQC to work with NHS Improvement to understand the issues in NHS trusts that contribute to ‘Never Events’; part of this work looked at how effectively trusts use safety guidance and how other system partners support the implementation of safety guidance. A report, Opening the door to change: NHS safety culture and the need for transformation was published at the end of last year and a copy is attached. 



Patient Safety Alert
(PDF Document, 132.13 KB)




Opening the door to change
(PDF Document, 3.13 MB)

NHS: Drugs

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of a disorderly Brexit on the supply of pharmaceuticals between the UK and EU member states.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Leaving the European Union with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. However, as a responsible Government we must plan for every possible outcome including ‘no deal’. The Department has published guidance to industry and the health and care system to allow them to make informed plans and preparations. This is available online at GOV.UK.The Government has been working closely with industry to ensure the supply of medicines can continue uninterrupted in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit, including building stockpiles, providing additional warehousing space and buying freight capacity on alternative ferry routes away from the short straits crossings to Dover and Folkestone for goods to continue to come into the United Kingdom from 12 April. We are supporting companies in booking space on aircraft for products which require an immediate shipment due to short shelf-life or specific storage conditions. We have also made changes to, or clarifications of, certain regulatory requirements so that companies can continue to sell their products in the UK even if we have no deal. Finally, we are strengthening the processes and resources used to deal with shortages in the event that they do occur.We are confident that, if everyone does what they need to do, the supply of medicines and medical products into the UK will be uninterrupted.

General Practitioners: Travellers

baroness whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps have been taken to address concerns raised by the UN Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, that Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities are frequently refused registration at GP practices.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Registering with and access to primary medical care services is the same for all patients, whether they are gypsies, travellers, homeless or vulnerable migrants. People do not need to provide proof of address to register with a general practice (GP). NHS England is working with a range of community groups to redesign the patient registration leaflet so that people are aware of this when registering. The free NHS 111 service can assist anyone who has faced difficulty finding a GP or accessing other services in their local area.NHS England is aware of difficulties some individuals have faced when trying to register with a GP and is taking steps to address shortcomings with individual practices, working in partnership with the voluntary sector.The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Health and Wellbeing Alliance is a partnership arrangement with the aim to facilitate integrated working between the voluntary and statutory sectors, to promote equality and reduce health inequalities. It receives £1.2 million for core work from the Department, with each member receiving funding of up to £60,000. Friends, Families and Travellers is a member of the Alliance and has supported the Department on a range of work to date including the Inclusion Health Audit Tool, on maternal health, mental health, end of life care and dementia.

Drugs: Shortages

baroness jolly: To ask Her Majesty's Government, whether they have made any further preparations on stockpiling (1) pharmacy, and (2) general sales list, medicines in the event that Article 50 is extended.

baroness jolly: To ask Her Majesty's Government, whether they will update their guidance given to companies that supply (1) prescription only, (2) pharmacy, and (3) general sales list,medicines if Article 50 is extended.

baroness jolly: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions (1) the Department of Health and Social Care, and (2) NHS England have had with suppliers and manufacturers of general sales list (GSL) medicines to ensure the continued supply of GSL medicines that are important for the management of specific health conditions after the UK has left the EU.

baroness jolly: To ask Her Majesty's Government what contingency plans have been put in place to ensure the continued supply of general sales list medicines that are important for the management of specific health conditions after the UK has left the EU.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Leaving the European Union with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. However, as a responsible Government we must plan for every possible outcome including ‘no deal’. The Department has published guidance to industry and the health and care system to allow them to make informed plans and preparations. This is available online at GOV.UK. The Government has been working closely with industry to ensure the supply of medicines can continue uninterrupted in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit, including building stockpiles, providing additional warehousing space and buying freight capacity on alternative ferry routes. Our plans cover all medicines and medical products, including general sales list medicines. The Department will continue to work on its ‘no deal’ plans, and we are writing in similar terms to all other organisations in the health and care system to ask them to continue and not to wind down their contingency plans at this stage. The Department wrote to all suppliers of medicines to the United Kingdom on 26 March to advise them of the changes to EU exit dates, and ask them to continue with preparations to protect patients in all possible outcomes.

Vaccination: Imports

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that travel disruption could have on imports of vaccines in the event of a disorderly Brexit.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Leaving the European Union with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. However, as a responsible Government we must plan for every possible outcome including ‘no deal’. The Department has published guidance to industry and the health and care system to allow them to make informed plans and preparations. This is available online at GOV.UK.The Department has since written to all suppliers of medicines to the United Kingdom on 26 March to advise them of the changes to EU exit dates and asked them to continue with preparations to protect patients in all possible outcomes.The Government has been working closely with industry to ensure the supply of medicines, including vaccines, can continue uninterrupted in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit. This work has included building stockpiles, providing additional warehousing space and buying freight capacity on alternative ferry routes. There is cross-Government agreement that all medicines and medical products will be prioritised on these alternative routes to ensure that the flow of all these products may continue unimpeded.Public Health England (PHE) manages significant stockpiles of vaccines for the national immunisation programme, as part of their business-as-usual planning. PHE is working closely with vaccine suppliers to ensure replenishment of these existing stockpiles continues in the event of supply disruption in the UK.We are confident that, if everyone does what they need to do, the supply of medicines and medical products will be uninterrupted.

Department for Education

Voluntary Schools: Admissions

baroness blackstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that voluntary-aided schools that select 100 per cent of their pupils based on faith will have on religious integration.

lord agnew of oulton: Many schools with faith-based admissions have diverse intakes, and many schools that don’t have faith based admissions have homogenous school populations. While faith schools are allowed to give priority to children of their faith, some choose to allocate only a certain percentage of their places with reference to faith in order to open up places to other children regardless of faith, and many do not have faith admissions criteria at all. Where there are sufficient places, faith schools must offer a place to every applicant regardless of faith.The department undertook an extensive series of activities as part of the Schools that Work for Everyone consultation to understand the variety of opinions relating to faith schools. Having considered the views of respondents, and those of a range of other stakeholders, the department decided to establish the voluntary-aided capital scheme alongside retaining the 50% cap in faith admissions in faith designated free schools.An analysis of how the voluntary-aided schools capital scheme will affect specific protected groups (equalities impact assessment) is attached and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/voluntary-aided-schools-capital-scheme-equalities-impact-assessment.



HL14689_voluntary_aided_schools_capital_scheme_equ
(PDF Document, 142.39 KB)

Voluntary Schools: Capital Investment

baroness blackstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide funding for additional rounds of the new capital scheme for voluntary-aided schools; and if so, how often they intend to do so.

lord agnew of oulton: The department launched the capital scheme for voluntary-aided schools on the 15 November 2018 and the bidding round closed on 1 February 2019. We plan to launch a second bidding round in due course.

Voluntary Schools: Teachers

baroness whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the negative impact new fully religiously selective voluntary-aided schools could have on employment opportunities for teachers without a religious faith.

lord agnew of oulton: New voluntary-aided (VA) schools will have the same freedoms as existing ones to include religious criteria in their recruitment of teaching staff.Schools with a faith designation (this includes VA schools, free schools, and academy converters which were previously VA schools) are able to recruit 100% of their teaching staff on the basis of faith. Voluntary controlled schools can only recruit up to 20% of their teaching staff on the basis of faith.The department does not collect data relating to the religious belief of school staff or the extent to which VA schools with a religious character use the freedoms they have to apply religious criteria when recruiting staff.

Vocational Education: Qualifications

lord blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 19 March (HLWS1393), what part the BTEC National Diploma will play in the future examination framework and the current proposal to rigidly differentiate T levels qualifications from academic options.

lord agnew of oulton: As announced in the Written Statement on 19 March (HLWS1393), the first part of a two-part consultation reviewing qualifications at level 3 and below (excluding A levels and GCSEs) was launched on 19 March and will conclude on 10 June. The second part of the consultation will open later in the year.The government is reviewing qualifications at level 3 and below for post-16 students and proposes to stop funding qualifications which are low quality and do not have a clear purpose. Analysis published by the department has highlighted over 12,000 courses that are currently on offer to young people at level 3 and below, with multiple qualifications available in the same subject areas.As identified in the ‘Review of vocational education: the Wolf report’, the ‘Post-16 skills plan’ and the ‘Report of the independent panel on technical education’, many of these qualifications are poor quality and offer little value to students or employers. Although many qualifications were reformed to meet performance table criteria following Professor Wolf’s report, there is still much to do to raise the standard of all qualifications. Once the review has concluded, the government’s aim is that qualifications available alongside A levels, T levels and apprenticeships will be high quality and will set students on a clear path to a job, further education or training. All three reports are attached.



Review_of-vocational_education_the_Wolf_report
(PDF Document, 2.79 MB)




Post_16_Skills_Plan
(PDF Document, 1.93 MB)




Report_of_the_Independent_Panel_on_Technical_Educa
(PDF Document, 3.54 MB)

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Arts and Literacy

lord bird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they provide (1) funding, and (2) other support to prisons to run arts and literacy programmes; if so, what;and how they assess the impact of such programmes.

lord keen of elie: The National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance is part-funded through the Ministry of Justice grant to CLINKS. Whilst there is no separate budget to fund arts and literacy programmes, such activity has for many years been funded at local level through prison education budgets. Both the new education commissioning routes available to governors from 1 April make explicit provision for arts, literacy and other cultural activity as a means of engaging prisoners in learning. The activity also enables progression to higher levels, develops human and social capital, and improves life skills, employability and wellbeing, thereby helping to prevent re-offending. In 2016, ‘Arts, culture and innovation in criminal justice settings: a guide for commissioners’, published by the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance, set out and summarised a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the positive impact of the arts in criminal justice settings in engaging, motivating and providing opportunities for people to develop new skills, as well as discover new ways of behaving and relating to others. On Friday 22 March 2019, the Ministry of Justice published a tool which arts organisations can use to measure the intermediate outcomes from activity they deliver within the criminal justice system. This will support them in demonstrating their effectiveness to commissioners.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade: Commonwealth

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase UK trade with Commonwealth countries after Brexit.

baroness fairhead: At last year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), hosted by the UK, leaders adopted a six-point Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment to boost intra-Commonwealth trade to $2 Trillion by 2030. As Chair-In-Office, the UK is committed to working with our Commonwealth partners to achieve this target. That is why at CHOGM we launched three new programmes aimed at promoting inclusive intra-Commonwealth trade, cooperation on meeting standards and promoting trade by women-owned businesses. The UK will also be chairing the Commonwealth Trade Ministers meeting in October. Of our 52 Commonwealth partners, 44 currently benefit from development-friendly preferential access to the UK market. The Government is committed to seeking continuity for our current trade and investment relationships as we leave the EU, including those with Commonwealth countries.

Imports: Israeli Settlements

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what trade agreements apply to goods coming from Israeli settlements (1) now, and (2) after the UK leaves the EU.

baroness fairhead: The EU-Israel Trade Agreements and the transitioned UK-Israel Trade Agreement apply to the State of Israel. The UK has been clear that it does not recognise the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), including the settlements, as part of the State of Israel and that the OPTs are not covered by the UK-Israel Agreement. The EU-Palestinian Authority Interim Agreement and the transitioned UK-Palestinian Authority Interim Agreement apply to the territory of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Products produced in the Israeli settlements, located within the territories brought under Israeli administration since June 1967, are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under either agreement.

Department for Work and Pensions

World Down Syndrome Day

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to mark the UN's World Down Syndrome Day on 21 March; and what steps they are taking to ensure that people with Down syndrome have equal opportunities in allaspects of society.

baroness buscombe: The UK Government marked this year's World Down Syndrome Day by co-sponsoring and participating in a key side event called "Leave no one behind" at the 21st Session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Geneva. The event's theme was “Ensuring all persons with Down Syndrome can access meaningful employment and an adequate standard of living on a full and equal basis with others.” The Government is fully committed to its vision - to create a society that works for everyone, where all can participate fully and be included. Therefore, Government Departments have invested in a range of programmes and initiatives to ensure that disabled people including persons with Down Syndrome are not left behind in all aspects of society such as in employment, education, health, housing, transport and sport.

Social Security Benefits

the lord bishop of durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of households subject to the benefit cap that have moved into work in comparison with the number of households that have moved into work that are not subject to that cap.

baroness buscombe: The Department published its evaluation of the original benefit cap levels “Benefit cap: Analysis of Outcomes of capped claimants” in December 2014. From the findings the Government estimated that capped households were 4.7 percentage points (41%) more likely to flow into work after a year compared to similar uncapped households. Households working more than 16 hours a week and eligible for working tax credits or entitled to Universal Credit and earning at least £542 (£569 from April 2019) a month are exempt from the benefit cap. Statistics published on 7 February 2019 show that in November 2018, out of a total of 196,840 capped Housing Benefit awards since May 2013, 55,360 were no longer capped because they had moved into work. In addition, out of a total of 19,660 Universal Credit awards capped since October 2016, 2,420 were no longer capped because they had earnings above the earnings threshold (currently £542). These figures will include some households that would have moved into work in the absence of the cap.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Water: Shortages

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address a potential long-term water shortage in the UK.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government is working closely with other water regulators and the water industry to improve the resilience of water supplies. The Government recognises action is required and it is committed to a ‘twin track approach’, of reducing demand for water and increasing supply in parallel. Water companies have a statutory duty to provide clean and reliable water to customers under the Water Industry Act 1991 and to fulfil this duty there is a statutory requirement to plan to balance water supply and demand at least twenty-five years in to the future. The Government, the Environment Agency and Ofwat issued guidance to water companies in 2016 on how they should be planning to be resilient to foreseeable risks, including taking appropriate action to respond to climate change projections and population growth. The Government and regulators have challenged the companies when reviewing their draft plans and have made clear that companies should set challenging customer consumption figures, reduce leakage at least 15% by 2025 and by half by 2050 and bring forward supply schemes where necessary. Water companies have been revising their plans and they will finalise them this year. The Government knows that reducing water demand alone will not be enough; the country requires a mix of new large and small water supply solutions. In the case of large infrastructure, the Government’s National Policy Statement for water resources infrastructure, currently undergoing parliamentary scrutiny, will streamline the process of gaining planning permission for nationally significant infrastructure projects that are needed to improve the long term resilience of water supplies. Looking further ahead the Government will launch a call for evidence on setting an ambitious target for per capita consumption by mid-May 2019. This will be a national, non-binding target that will be used to judge the effectiveness of the Government’s actions and those of the water industry in reducing water use. The Government will also examine the wider policy options required to support the target. The Government is also taking steps to improve water companies’ statutory planning process, to ensure that there is better collaboration between water companies and other water using sectors. This includes the Environment Agency developing a National Framework for water resources and consulting on legislative improvements.

Home Office

Slavery: Children

baroness doocey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place to ensure that children are treated first as victims rather than defendants where cases involve one of the offences exempt from statutory defence listed inSchedule 4 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government regards slavery, including trafficking, of children as a very serious offence. The Section 45 statutory defence was designed to strengthen the existing prosecutorial discretion, and public interest test against prosecuting suspects acting under duress. The purpose behind this was to also ensure that a child’s additional vulnerabilities are taken into account on a case by case basis. This legal principle is supported by extensive training the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the police are provided with to recognise indicators of duress. CPS guidance can be found via the link below:https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/human-trafficking-smuggling-and-slaveryWhere children are found to be victims of modern slavery, their safety and welfare needs must be addressed as the priority. All local agencies (including local authorities, police and border force) also have statutory duties to safeguard children as part of their local responsibilities.Furthermore, the Government is keen for Independent Child Trafficking Advocates to continue to support law enforcement agencies to identify trafficked children as victims rather than perpetrators and to ensure, where appropriate, that the Section 45 statutory defence is applied.

Police: Stun Guns

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to train police officers to use de-escalation techniques to reduce the number of incidents involving tasers; and what assessment they have made of the proportion of incidents involving the use of tasers where the target is (1) a member of an ethnic minority, or (2) a person with a mental health condition or learning disability.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government is committed to giving the police the necessary tools to do their job effectively and conducted energy devices (CEDs), such as TASER®, provide officers with an important tactical option when facing potentially physically violent situations.The deployment of CEDs is a matter for Chief Officers to determine and it is for them to determine the number of devices and specially trained officers based on their force assessment of threat and riskThe training of police officers is independent of Government and it is the College of Policing who sets the professional standards for policing. However, all officers receive comprehensive training in deescalation techniques as well as training to assess the potential vulnerabilities of a person including awareness of mental health issues.The Government is clear that nobody should be subject to force or different treatment based on their race or ethnicity, and police forces must ensure that officers use force in a way that is fair, lawful and proportionate.The Government recognises the importance of ensuring transparency and accountability around the police use of force, which is why from December 2018 the Home Office began publishing use of force statistics as part of the Annual Data Review (ADR). This will be published on an annual basis.

Police: Stun Guns

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to requiring all police officers in England and Wales carrying tasers to be equipped with Body Worn Video devices in order to reduce the number of incidents where tasers are used.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government recognises that Body Worn Video (BWV) can be a powerful tool and can play an important role in reassuring the public that the police are using their powers appropriately and proportionately. How a force deploys BWV is an operational matter for PCC’s and Chief Constables to determine.We are committed to giving the police the necessary tools to do their job and Tasers provide officers with an important tactical option when facing potentially physically violent situations. However, the Government is clear that all use of force must be lawful, proportionate and necessary in all circumstances.As at January 2019, 66,000 BWV cameras have been deployed across po-lice forces in England and Wales. All 43 forces are due to complete their deployment plans to increase their BWV capability by the end of 2019, which will take the number of cameras to approximately 80,000.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

lord maginnis of drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will re-examine the estimated £1.3 billion cost of the Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive scheme to the public purse over a 20 year period; how that figure was calculated; whether it was inflated; and if so, why.

lord maginnis of drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they combined the collection of regional rates in Northern Ireland and the administration of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme under the Northern Ireland (Regional Rates and Energy) Act 2019; and whether the Northern Ireland Office or the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was responsible for that decision.

lord maginnis of drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Duncan of Springbank on 19 March (HL Deb, col 1408), what progress they have made in appointing an independent chairman to examine the case of every individual who received funds from the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme and experienced hardship as a result of that scheme.

lord duncan of springbank: The Department for the Economy (DfE) delivers the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme in Northern Ireland. The £1.3bn figure was the DfE estimate assuming a scenario of the original 2012 tariffs remaining unchanged. It is of course now no longer relevant as these tariffs no longer apply. On the combining of Rates and RHI into one Bill; Parliamentary Counsel advised last year that this was an appropriate pairing for these measures. Given the current pressures on Parliamentary time, and the limit on available legislative slots, we adopted exactly the same approach this year. I welcome the commitment made by the Department for the Economy to appoint an independent chair to examine the cases of individuals who received funds from the RHI initiative and believe they have experienced hardship. The appointment of the Chair is a matter for that Department, but we will continue to work closely with DfE on this important matter.

Treasury

Credit: Insurance

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact on the viability of high streets in the UK of credit insurers reducing their cover for some high street retailers.

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the UK supply chain to high street retailers of the lack of credit insurance cover available for such retailers.

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the credit insurance market in the UK; and what steps they plan to take to improve the level of cover available for suppliers to the retail sector.

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide support to suppliers who may suffer losses as a result of being unable to obtain credit insurance cover.

lord bates: Government actively monitors the economy, and is aware of problems and consequent difficulty some retailers are facing in accessing credit insurance. Insurers base the level of cover they provide on their assessment of the credit risk, which is often dependent on the specific dynamics of certain sectors. Market trends in the retail sector, and challenging market conditions facing the retailers, have led some insurers to reduce their exposure. The underwriting of insurance risks – including credit risks – is a commercial decision, and Government does not prescribe the terms and conditions insurance companies set when offering insurance. This is important to the proper functioning of the economy. However, Government is clear that it wants all types of retail to thrive now and in the future, and wants to support the sector as it responds to change. A package of measures to support the high street was announced at Budget 2018. The Government has regular engagement with financial services providers, including on their plans to support business customers. Other financial services products are also available to support businesses in lieu of credit insurance, for example from banks.

Hotels: Taxation

baroness doocey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how a tax levied on hotel stays on a per night basis might impact cities and their tourism sectors.

lord bates: The Government has made no such assessment.

Overseas Loans: Republic of Ireland

lord morris of aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they granted a bilateral loan of £3.2 billion to the government of the Republic of Ireland in 2010.

lord bates: As the then Chancellor said at the time, the government agreed in 2010 to provide a bilateral loan to Ireland because it was overwhelmingly in the UK’s national interest to have a strong Irish economy and stable banking system. The links between our financial systems, particularly in Northern Ireland, mean that there was a strong economic case to provide financial assistance to Ireland. By being part of the international financial package, the UK indirectly supported the very many businesses across the UK that trade with Ireland.